View source for Gil-galad

{{good article}}
{{Infobox character
| name = Gil-galad
| series = [[J. R. R. Tolkien|Tolkien]]
| aliases = Ereinion, Artanáro/Rodnor, Finellach, Finwain<br/>High King of the [[Noldor]]
| race = [[Elf (Middle-earth)|Elves]]
| lbl24 = Book(s)
| data24 = {{plainlist|
* ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' (1954)
* ''[[The Silmarillion]]'' (1977)
}}
}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}
'''Gil-galad''' is a fictional character in [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s [[Middle-earth]] [[legendarium]], the last high king of the [[Noldor]], one of the main [[Sundering of the Elves|divisions of Elves]]. He is mentioned in ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', where the hobbit [[Samwise Gamgee|Sam Gamgee]] recites a fragment of a poem about him, and ''[[The Silmarillion]]''. In the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, Gil-galad and [[Elendil]] laid siege to the Dark Lord [[Sauron]]'s fortress of [[Barad-dûr]], and fought him hand-to-hand for the [[One Ring]]. Gil-galad and Elendil were both killed, but Sauron<!--an immortal Maia, cannot be killed--> was wounded. This allowed Elendil's son [[Isildur]] to cut the Ring from Sauron's hand, defeating Sauron, and to take the Ring for himself.

Gil-galad briefly appears at the opening of [[Peter Jackson]]'s [[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy]], in several [[List of Middle-earth video games|video games based on Middle-earth]], and as a secondary character in the TV series [[The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power|''The Rings of Power'']].

== Appearances ==

=== Prose ===

Gil-galad was an [[Elves in Middle-earth|Elf]] of a royal house of [[Beleriand]]; beyond that, accounts of his birth vary. According to ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', he was born into the house of [[Finwë]] as a son of Fingon sometime in the [[First Age]], and as a child, he was sent away during the Siege of [[Angband (Middle-earth)|Angband]] for safekeeping with [[Cirdan]] the shipwright in the [[Falas]].<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977}} Chapter 18, "Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin"</ref> Alternatively, according to Tolkien's last word on the subject, he was a son of Orodreth, who became a son of Angrod, son of [[Finarfin]]. Christopher Tolkien rejected these changes for ''The Silmarillion'', a decision he later regretted.<ref name="Shibboleth of Fëanor" group=T />

He became the High King of the [[Noldor]]-in-Exile in Beleriand after the [[fall of Gondolin]] and the death of the previous High King, Turgon.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977}} Chapter 23, "Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin"</ref> After the [[War of Wrath]] and the end of the First Age, Gil-galad founded a realm in the coastal region of [[Lindon (Middle-earth)|Lindon]] along the shores of [[Belegaer]], the Great Sea. At its height, his realm extended eastward as far as the [[Misty Mountains]].<ref name="Of the Rings of Power" group=T/> King Tar-Aldarion of [[Númenor]] presented Gil-galad with the gift of some seeds of the [[Mallorn]] tree; he in turn gave some to [[Galadriel]], who grew them in the guarded land of [[Lothlórien]].<ref name="A Description of Númenor" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1980}}, Part II, Chapter 1 "A Description of Númenor"</ref> Gil-galad did not take a wife and had no children. He was the first of the Eldar to mistrust a stranger who called himself Annatar, and forbade him from entering Lindon. His mistrust was well founded, for Annatar was in fact [[Sauron]].<ref name="Of the Rings of Power" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977}}  "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age"</ref> About the year 1600 of the Second Age, Sauron secretly forged the [[One Ring]]. [[Celebrimbor]], the creator of the [[Three Rings]], gave two of them, Narya and Vilya, to Gil-galad for safe-keeping once he knew Sauron's intention to take them. Gil-galad passed Narya to [[Cirdan]] the shipwright, who stated that this was only to keep it secret; Cirdan never used it. Gil-galad chose to give Vilya, and control of [[Eriador]], to Elrond.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Fisher |first=Jason |author-link=Jason Fisher |title=Three Rings for—Whom Exactly? And Why?: Justifying the Disposition of the Three Elven Rings |journal=[[Tolkien Studies]] |volume=5 |issue=1 |year=2008 |pages=99–108 |doi=10.1353/tks.0.0015 |s2cid=171012566}}</ref><ref name="Galadriel and Celeborn" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1980}} "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn"</ref> War broke out between the Elves and Sauron; Gil-galad asked the [[Númenóreans]] for help, and their king Tar-Minastir brought a great force, enabling Gil-galad to defeat Sauron's army.<ref name="Galadriel and Celeborn" group=T/> 

After the [[Downfall of Númenor]] there was peace in Middle-earth. At the end of the Second Age, Sauron reappeared with a newly formed army and made war against the kingdom of [[Gondor]], near his old home of [[Mordor]]. Gil-galad formed the Last Alliance of Elves and Men with the High King of [[Man (Middle-earth)|Men]], [[Elendil]]. The armies of Elves and Men entered Mordor and laid siege to Sauron's fortress of [[Barad-dûr]]. At the end of the siege, Sauron finally came forth and fought hand-to-hand against Gil-galad and Elendil on the slopes of [[Mount Doom]], losing the One Ring but killing them both.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}} Appendix B, "The Second Age"</ref> A record left by [[Isildur]] in [[Minas Tirith]] implies that Sauron himself killed Gil-galad with the heat of his bare hands. Recalling the encounter at the [[Council of Elrond]] at [[Rivendell]] before the Fellowship took the One Ring south, Elrond said that only he and Círdan stood by Gil-galad in that fight.<ref name="Council of Elrond" group=T/>

=== Poetry ===
{{further|Poetry in The Lord of the Rings}}

In ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', on the way to [[Weathertop]], [[Aragorn]] mentions Gil-galad, prompting the hobbit [[Sam Gamgee]] to recite a fragment, three stanzas, of "Gil-galad was an Elven-king":<ref name="Shippey 2013">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Shippey |first=Tom |author-link=Tom Shippey |chapter=Poems by Tolkien: ''The Lord of the Rings'' |editor=Michael D. C. Drout |editor-link=Michael D. C. Drout |title=[[The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia]] |year=2013 |orig-year=2006 |location=Abingdon |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-1358-8033-0 |pages=245–246}}</ref> 

{{quote|<poem>Gil-galad was an Elven-king.
Of him the harpers sadly sing:
The last whose realm was fair and free
Between the mountains and the sea.

His sword was long, his lance was keen.
His shining helm afar was seen.
The countless stars of heaven's field
Were mirrored in his silver shield.

But long ago he rode away,
And where he dwelleth none can say.
For into darkness fell his star;
In [[Mordor]], where the shadows are.<ref name="Knife in the Dark" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954a}} Book I, Chapter 11 "A Knife in the Dark"</ref></poem>}}

Sam's companions are impressed, and ask for more; Sam admits that is all that he learnt from Bilbo. Aragorn says the fragment is a translation from "an ancient tongue" and suggests that the hobbits may hear the rest in [[Rivendell]].<ref name="Knife in the Dark" group=T/> The Tolkien scholar [[Tom Shippey]] comments that the longer poem does not exist, and that Sam's fragment seems to have been composed while Tolkien was writing the chapter. He notes that it has the form of a [[ballad]], each stanza being a [[quatrain]] in [[eulogy]] mode with end-rhymes in the [[rhyming pattern]] AABB/CCDD.<ref name="Shippey 2013"/>

== Arte<!--British English-->facts ==

=== Aeglos, the spear ===

{{further|List of Middle-earth weapons and armour}}

Gil-galad's [[spear]] was named [[Aeglos (spear)|Aeglos]] or Aiglos,<ref name="burdge">{{cite book |title=[[J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment]] |editor-first=Michael |editor-last=Drout |editor-link=Michael Drout |chapter=Weapons, Named |first1=Anthony |last1=Burdge |first2=Jessica |last2=Burke |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2013 |orig-year=2007 |isbn=978-0-415-86511-1 |pages=703–705}}</ref> meaning "snow-point" or "snow-thorn" or more commonly "icicle"<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977}} p. 313</ref> (''aeg'': sharp, pointed; ''los'': snow) because when [[Orc (Middle-earth)|orcs]] saw his spear, they would recognize it by its reputation to bring a cold death to them. Elrond said that at the battle of Dagorlad, "we had the mastery: for the Spear of Gil-galad and the Sword of Elendil, Aiglos and [[List of Middle-earth weapons and armour#Narsil|Narsil]], none could withstand."<ref name="Council of Elrond" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954a}} Book II, Chapter 2: "[[The Council of Elrond]]"</ref><ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977}} p. 294</ref><ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1980}} pp. 148, 417</ref> The connection of Elf and spear could relate to the English surname [[Edward Elgar|Elgar]], which may represent [[Old English]] {{lang|ang|aelf-gar}}, "elf-spear".<ref>{{cite journal |editor1-last=Christopher |editor1-first=Joe R. |editor2-last=Hammond |editor2-first=Wayne G. |editor3-last=Hargis |editor3-first=Pat Allen |editor2-link=Wayne G. Hammond |title=An Inklings Bibliography (35) |journal=[[Mythlore]] |volume=15 |issue=4 |at=article 9, page 66 |url=https://dc.swosu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2642&context=mythlore}}</ref>

=== Heraldic devices ===
[[File:Gil-galad's_heraldic_device.jpg|thumb|upright|Gil-galad's heraldic device with stars on a blue field{{sfn|Hammond|Scull|1995|pp=193–194}}<ref name="Purdy 1982"/>]]

{{further|Heraldry of Middle-earth}}

Tolkien created two sketches of [[Heraldry of Middle-earth|heraldic devices]] for Gil-galad. They were drawn on an envelope posted to him in 1960, along with a device containing a star or [[Silmarils|Silmaril]] for [[Eärendil and Elwing|Eärendil]]. The Tolkien scholars [[Wayne G. Hammond]] and [[Christina Scull]] note that matching the description in the poem, "The countless stars of heaven's field / Were mirrored in his silver shield", the lozenge-shaped devices both contain stars, with an elongated star in each corner.{{sfn|Hammond|Scull|1995|pp=193–194}} Margaret Purdy, in ''[[Mythlore]]'', writes that Gil-galad's shield, like all elvish heraldry personal not inherited, seems to incorporate his stars, though the field is blue not silver.<ref name="Purdy 1982">{{cite journal |last=Purdy |first=Margaret R. |year=1982 |title=Symbols of Immortality: A Comparison of European and Elvish Heraldry |journal=[[Mythlore]] |volume=9 |issue=1 |at=Article 5 |url=https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol9/iss1/5}}</ref>

=== Family tree ===
{{further|Tolkien's Middle-earth family trees}}
{{House of Finwë family tree}}
<!---->
== Concept and creation ==

Gil-galad means "star of bright light" in [[Sindarin]].{{sfn|Hammond|Scull|2005|p=86}}
His names in Tolkien's invented languages of [[Quenya]] and Sindarin were Artanáro and Rodnor, respectively. His Sindarin birth name, Ereinion, means "scion of kings".<ref name="Shibboleth of Fëanor2" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1996}} "[[The Shibboleth of Fëanor]]", "The names of Finwë's descendants"</ref>

Tolkien considered several different parentages for Gil-galad in different draft texts, including making him the son of Orodreth.<ref name="Shibboleth of Fëanor" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1996}} "The Shibboleth of Fëanor", "The parentage of Gil-galad"</ref> In the second version of ''The Fall of Númenor'', he is called a descendant of  [[Fëanor]], who made the [[Silmarils]].<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1987}} Part One: II. The Fall of Númenor, (iii) "The second version of The Fall of Númenor"</ref> Then Tolkien treated him as a son of [[Finrod Felagund]].<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1994}} Part Two: "The Later Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin"</ref> [[Christopher Tolkien]], editing the published version of ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', made Gil-galad the son of Fingon, a decision he later regretted, saying he should have left the parentage obscure.<ref name="Shibboleth of Fëanor" group=T />

Renee Vink, of the Dutch Tolkien Society, suggests that the only good reason for making him son of Fingon is the correspondence of the colours, blue and silver, of Gil-galad's heraldic device and [[Fingolfin]]'s banner. She notes that the publication of ''The Silmarillion'', based on a limited "grasp of the material", created a "virtually unshakeable" tradition for this parentage. She argues that Orodreth has a better claim to paternity, for several reasons: the crown of the Noldor in exile (in Middle-earth) then comes to a descendant of Finarfin, king of the Noldor in Aman; a descendant of Finarfin would fight Sauron to avenge Finarfin's son [[Finrod Felagund|Finrod]]; and as brother to Finduilas, he (alone of the Noldor's Kings) would fight with a spear, the weapon that killed his sister.<ref name="Vink 2013">{{cite journal |last1=Vink |first1=Renee |title=The Parentage of Gil-galad |journal=Lembas |publisher=Unquendor |date=2013 |orig-year=2003, rewritten 2009 |issue=Extra |url=https://www.academia.edu/13554329}}</ref>

The scholar of literature Lawrence Krikorian, in ''[[Mallorn (journal)|Mallorn]]'', writes that [[Elrond]]'s account of his personal observation of being Gil-galad's herald in the [[Second Age]], thousands of years earlier, helps to make the narrative function as history rather than [[allegory]]. This, he writes, lends an [[Impression of depth in The Lord of the Rings|impression of depth]].<ref name="Krikorian 2018">{{cite journal |last=Krikorian |first=Lawrence |title=Realism in fantasy: The Lord of the Rings as 'history . . . feigned' |journal=[[Mallorn (journal)|Mallorn]] |date=2018 |issue=59 |pages=14–17 |url=https://journals.tolkiensociety.org/mallorn/article/download/20/15}}</ref>

== Adaptations ==

<!--[[File:Master-fri - The Fall of Gil-galad.png|thumb|Artist's impression of the fall of Gil-galad, in battle with [[Sauron]]]]-->

=== Film, TV, and radio ===

[[File:Jackson's_Elrond_and_Gil-galad.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Gil-galad (played by [[Mark Ferguson (actor)|Mark Ferguson]], centre right) and his herald [[Elrond]] ([[Hugo Weaving]], left), as envisaged in [[Peter Jackson]]'s 2001 film ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring|The Fellowship of the Ring]]''<ref name="Fellowship Cast"/>]]

In the 1981 [[BBC Radio 4]] dramatisation of ''[[The Lord of the Rings (1981 radio series)|The Lord of the Rings]]'', the ''Lay of Gil-galad'' was set to music by [[Stephen Oliver (composer)|Stephen Oliver]].<ref name="Sibley">{{cite web |last1=Sibley |first1=Brian |author-link1=Brian Sibley |title=The Ring Goes Ever On: The Making of BBC Radio's 'The Lord of the Rings' |url=http://briansibleytheworks.blogspot.com/2008/01/this-page-is-still-under-construction_23.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190816113635/http://briansibleytheworks.blogspot.com/2008/01/this-page-is-still-under-construction_23.html<!--authoritative blog of the production's scriptwriter--> |archive-date=16 August 2019 |access-date=24 February 2020 |publisher=Brian Sibley}}</ref>

In the ''Lord of the Rings'' [[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|film trilogy]] by [[Peter Jackson]], Gil-galad is portrayed by [[Mark Ferguson (actor)|Mark Ferguson]]. He appears very briefly in ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring|The Fellowship of the Ring]]'' during the opening prologue sequence.<ref name="Fellowship Cast">{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018194153/http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1807537463/cast |url=http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1807537463/cast |title=The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring |website=[[Yahoo! Movies]] |archive-date=18 October 2007 |access-date=9 May 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Gil-galad is mentioned in the behind-the-scenes documentaries included with the Special Extended Edition [[DVD]] of ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' and is listed in the credits. In an interview with Ferguson and [[Craig Parker]] (Haldir), Ferguson stated that it had been planned for his death to be depicted onscreen as in the book, but it was considered too violent.<ref>{{cite AV media |title=The Fellowship of the Ring Special Extended Edition |type=DVD |date=2001 |id=EDV9171 |publisher=[[New Line Cinema]]}}</ref>

In the [[Amazon Prime Video]] ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power]]'' TV series, which focuses on events in the [[Second Age]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Analysis: what can we deduce from the Amazon synopsis about the plot of the new Middle-earth series? |url=https://www.theonering.net/torwp/2021/01/17/110094-analysis-what-can-we-deduce-from-the-amazon-synopsis-about-the-plot-of-the-new-middle-earth-series/ |website=TheOneRing.net |access-date=16 February 2022 |date=17 January 2021}}</ref> Gil-Galad is played by [[Benjamin Walker (actor)|Benjamin Walker]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Williams |first1=Caleb |title=Benjamin Walker Will Play High-Elven King Gil-Galad in Amazon's 'Lord of the Rings' TV Series |url=https://knightedgemedia.com/2022/01/benjamin-walker-will-play-gil-galad-in-amazons-lord-of-the-rings/ |website=Knight Edge Media |access-date=15 February 2022 |date=30 January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Clark |first1=Campbell |title=Gil-Galad Casting For The Rings Of Power Revealed |url=https://lrmonline.com/news/gil-galad-casting-for-the-rings-of-power-revealed-barside-buzz/ |website=LRM online |access-date=15 February 2022 |date=1 February 2022}}</ref>

=== Games ===

Gil-galad has been included in multiple video games since Jackson's films were first shown. The 2004 video game ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age]]'' featured Mark Ferguson as Gil-galad.<ref>{{cite AV media |title=The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age |date=November 2004 |publisher=[[Electronic Arts]]}}</ref> Others are the 2007 ''[[The Lord of the Rings Online]]''; the 2011 ''[[The Lord of the Rings: War in the North]]'';<ref>{{cite video game | title=The Lord of the Rings: The War in the North | developer=[[Snowblind Studios]] | publisher=[[Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment|WB Games]] |year=2011 | level=Rivendell, Part 1}}</ref> and the 2012 ''[[Lego The Lord of the Rings (video game)|Lego The Lord of the Rings]]'' which has Gil-galad near [[Mount Doom]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Guide personnages de LEGO Le Seigneur des Anneaux : Gil-Galad |url=https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xvp8ui |website=Daily Motion |date=8 December 2012 |access-date=16 February 2022 |language=fr}}</ref>

== References ==

=== Primary ===
{{reflist|group=T|30em}}

=== Secondary ===
{{reflist|30em}}

== Sources ==

* {{ME-ref|A&I}}  <!--1995, Hammond & Scull, Tolkien's artwork-->
* {{cite book |last1=Hammond |first1=Wayne G. |author-link=Wayne G. Hammond |last2=Scull |first2=Christina |author2-link=Christina Scull |title=The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion |year=2005 |publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|Houghton Mifflin]] |isbn=978-0-00-720907-1 |title-link=The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion}}
* {{ME-ref|FOTR}} <!--1954-->
* {{ME-ref|ROTK}} <!--1955-->
* {{ME-ref|SILM}} <!--1977-->
* {{ME-ref|UT}}   <!--1980-->
* {{ME-ref|LROW}} <!--1987-->
* {{ME-ref|WOTJ}} <!--1994-->
* {{ME-ref|POME}} <!--1996-->

{{Middle-earth}}
{{Elves}}

[[Category:The Silmarillion characters]]
[[Category:Literary characters introduced in 1954]]
[[Category:Fictional kings]]
[[Category:Middle-earth rulers]]
[[Category:Noldor]]
[[Category:Ring-bearers]]
[[Category:Fictional polearm and spearfighters]]